Art of manufacturing containers



Get. 15, 1935'. V V 7E. WALKER ET 2,017,331

ART OF MANUFACTURING CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l WINVENTORJ ATTORNEY.

Get. 15, 1935. E. 1.. WALKER ET, AL 2,017,331

ART OF MANUFACTURING CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORJ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics Kieckhefer,

Milwaukee,

Wis., assignors to .Kieckhefer Container Compamz; Milwaukee,

Wis., a corporation of Maine Application September a, 1933, Serial No. 688,611 7 Claims. -(Cl. 93-36) This invention relates to improvements in the art of manufacturing containers.

The idea of impregnating a particular type of fibre board container with sulphur or the like to lend rigidity thereto and the quality of resistance to moisture forms subject matter of, a co-pending application. The present invention relates more particularly to certain features connected with the method of impregnation to produce certain desired results.

Fibre board containers are commonly constructed from fiat material which has been cut to desired shape and scored along desired lines to permit folding of portions of the blank relative to other portions thereof such as is necessary in assembling the finished article. While for certain types of containers, it is advisable to first form the finished article and then immerse the.

same in impregnating fluid, this is not always advisable as the sulphur, after it has solidified,

tends to hold thefarticle in formed shape -and it may not therefore be collapsed without breaking the sulphur and. perhaps also the fibre board along the lines of scoring. Where the article is a fibre fruit basket as illustrated, for the purpose of holding grapes or other like commodities,

it is not always essential that the finished article be collapsible as the sloping sides of the basket permit nesting of the empty baskets during shipment; With other types of containers, however,

and also with the type of basket illustrated, it

may be desirable to ship the samesin collapsed condition.

, It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a method of impregnating blanks for containers which permits the folding of the article to form after immersion of. the blank in the impregnating fiuid.

A further object is to provide a method of impregnating blanks for constructing containers or the like which permits the ready folding of the blank on lines of scoring, after the impregnating medium has solidified, thereby permitting shipment of impregnated containers in knock-down form and subsequent assembly thereof.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a method wherein the before mentioned object may be accomplished by protecting portions of the blank while the blank is being im- 0 mersed in the impregnating liquid to thereby prevent impregnation of 'said portions and to leave the same in a relatively flexible condition.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved art of-manu- CJI . 55 facturing containers, and all itsparts and con;-

nation process.

binations as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof. v

In the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cover of Fig. 2 10 after it has been formed;

Fig. -4 is a perspective View of the container formed from the blank of Fig. 1 in assembled condition showing a. modified form of cover in place thereon; 15

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view of one of the ends of the cover shown on Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view showing one method of protecting portions of a blank during impregnation; I 20 Fig. '7 is a similar view showing another method of protection;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a blank for forming a modified form of container; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of said container. 25

waterproof the container. It is preferable to em- 35 .ploy ordinary crude sulphur, which has been melted by the application of heat, in the impreg The sulphur may, however, be suspended in a suitable liquid vehicle or may be combined with other ingredients. e 40 1 For certain types of use, a container of fibre board or like material may be first formed to shape as shown in Figs. 4 and 9 and the container and cover maybe' separately immersed in the bath of hot-melted sulphur. After they 45 have been subjected to the action of the bathfor a sufficient length of time to enable the sulphur to permeate the fibre board, the articles are removed from the bath and the sulphur is permitted to cool and-solidify. It will then serve to.hold the container rigidly in assembled form and the fianges 8 of a cover of the type shown in Fig. 3 rigidly in bent position.

In view of the fact that it is easier to dip material when in a fiat form as shown in Figs. 1, 5

2' r 2, and 8, the forming may be done after impregnation, while the liquid is still hot and before the sulphur has solidified. It is then desirable to utilize means for holding the container and cover in formed shape until it is entirely As another method of procedure, fiat material may be impregnated and permitted to cool. 1 The material may then be assembled into the form of a container at a subsequent time by reheating, to thereby temporarily place the sulphur in a liquid state, in which condition the fibreboard can be bent to degircd shape. The scoring of the material may be done before or after impregnation.

Where it is desired that the container be shipped in knock-down form, which is particularly necessary when the container is not of such shape that a plurality can be nested, the presentv method contemplates the use of protecting means on portions of the container to prevent impregnation ofsaid portions. Accordingly, referring rial may be clamped or otherwise suitably secured in position over the lines 9 while the blank is being impregnated to prevent the sulphur from acting upon the covered areas. With this meth- 0d of procedure, after the impregnated blank. has dried, ,the sulphur will of course have per-- meated only the unprotected portions; thereby.

leaving narrow flexible areas along lines of scoring 9- to permit-folding of the blank from." the form shown in Figs. -1 and 8 to the assembled form of Figs. 4 and 9. With this method of procedure, any type of collapsible container may have major portions thereof stiffened by sul-- phur impresnation'without interfering with the collapsibility thereof. 'This method is particularly useful where the cover is. of the self looking type shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Here the cover is provided with side flanges l2, end tabs It in foldable connection with the side flanges and end flanges each formed of two sections, it and II. In assembly the tabs it are bent inwardly and the end sections I! are folded inwardly and downward adjacent the sections l4, there being tongues I which are snapped into slits II to hold the cover flanges in the assembled position .shown in Fig. 4. Inasmuchas it is desirable to' ship this type of cover in collapsed form, the lines of scoring ll may be protected during impregnation as above described.

After impregnation of the material, it is a,

part of the present method to shower the article with cold water or other suitable liquid to cause rapid solidification of the sulphur. This showering is alsovery important in view of the fact that it serves to lighten the color of the material so that it will not be unduly darkened by the sulphur. If there is any printing on the container, the showering with water also serves to brighten the quality of the and thereby counteract the unfavorable action of the. sulphur thereon: The'color may also be lightened. by treatment of the-article with steam, vapor, 'gas. moist or other moist fluid.

The impregnating methods above described may be employed -not only in connection with containers proper and covers therefor, but also in connection with partitions and fillers to render the latter more rigid and to render the same 6 impervious to moisture. Various changes and other adaptations may be made and all of such changes are contemplated as may come within the scope of the claims.

What we claim is: 10 l. The method of forming impregnated containers comprising applying to a fibre board blank, melted impregnating material which,

- when cool, will lend rigidity to the fibre board,

and folding the blank into container form while-l5 the impregnating material is in a liquid state. 2. The method of forming impregnated containers comprising dipping a blank of fibre board or the like into a bath of melted impregnating material which, when cool, will lend rigidity to 2Q the fibre board, removing the blank from the bath, and folding the blank-into container form while the impregnating material is in a liquid state.

3. The method of forming impregnated containers comprising dipping ablank of fibre board or the like into a bath of melted impregnating material which, when 0001, will lend rigidity to .the fibre board-removing the blank fromthebath, folding the blank into container form while the impregnating material is in a liquid state, and holding the container in formed shape while the impregnating material cools and solidifies.

1. The method of forming impregnated containers comprising dipping a blank' of fibre board or-the like into a bath of melted impregnating material which, when cool, will lend rigidity to the fibre board, removing the blank from the bath, permitting the blank to cool, re-heating the 4 blank to again place the impregnating material 40 into a liquid state, and folding the blank into. container form while the impregnating material is in said liquid state.

5. The method of forming impregnated containers comprising applying to a fibre board blank, melted impregnating material which, when cool, will lend rigidity to the fibre board. and'forming the blank into container formwhile the impregnating material is in a liquid state.

6. The method of--forming impregnatedcontainerscomprising dipping a blank of fibre board or the like into a bath of melted impregnating material which, when cool, will lend rigidity to the fibre board, removing the blank from the bath, forming the blank into container form while the impregnating material is in a liquid state, and holding the container in formed shape while the impregnating material cools and solidifies.

7. The method of forming impregnated con- 60 tainers' comprising dipping a blank of fibre board or the like into a' bath of melted'impregnating material which, when cool, will lend rigidity to the fibre board, removing the blank from they bath, permitting the blank to cool, re-heating 05 the blank to again place the impregnating material into a liquid state, and forming the blank into container forni while the impregnating ma terial is in said liquid state.

EMERY L. WALKER.

JOHN W. 

